By Cara Nash
With his breakout 2011 effort, Like Crazy (which bagged the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and a swag of acclaim to boot), writer/director, Drake Doremus, crafted a bittersweet tale of long distance romance. What set the romantic drama apart from its peers was the bruising naturalism with which the story unfolded, a quality that made it both utterly compelling and occasionally uncomfortable to watch. And while Doremus’ 2013 follow-up, Breathe In, spins a very familiar story – a young woman stirs the desires of a married man suffering through a midlife crisis – it’s this same realism and subtlety that elevates the film from other tales about marital discontent and adultery. A delicate slow burner, the story unspools – like the central relationship – with the most careful restraint, and Doremus seems almost dogged in his determination to ensure that this film never becomes a melodramatic mess, nor a morality lesson. And he succeeds.
Breathe In once again sees Doremus teaming up with his Like Crazy leading lady, Felicity Jones, who plays Sophie, the foreign exchange student who enters the lives of the Reynolds family. Before we’re introduced to Sophie, however, Doremus deftly establishes the family dynamic that she’s about to disrupt. While the Reynolds clan pose for picture perfect family photos, there are cracks in the smiles. That’s especially true of Guy Pearce’s Keith, a former rock musician who traded in his bohemian New York lifestyle for the stability of the American suburbs. There, he works as a high school music teacher, often subbing as a cellist in a New York orchestra, and it’s clearly a lifestyle that he’s never made peace with.
His wife, Megan (Amy Ryan), however, is content to have those rock‘n’roll days behind her, and the majority of her focus is on the couple’s daughter, Lauren (Mackenzie Davis), a naive and highly strung swimming champion in her final year of high school. She may just be the glue holding Keith and Megan’s marriage together. Enter Sophie, a poised and worldly Brit who also turns out to be a gifted pianist, and plans to stay with the Reynolds for her final semester. Aided by their common passion (and frustrations) toward music, as well as a shared feeling that they don’t belong in this suburban world of barbecues and school events, a tentative connection forms between Keith and Sophie, which soon escalates into intense desire and longing.
Doremus co-scripted the screenplay with his regular writing partner, Ben York Jones, and similar to his previous works, he relied heavily on improvisation, with the filmmaker delivering a detailed “outline” to his actors, and then calling on them to fill in the dialogue and feel their way through the scenes. It’s a risky process, but one that pays major dividends for Doremus again. Pearce and Jones deliver beautifully nuanced work, and their chemistry is palpable and powerful, despite being relegated to a handful of simmering looks and tender moments. Those looking for a ravenous affair may find themselves disappointed, yet around a small handful of stolen glances, Doremus creates an intoxicating atmosphere that is both delicate and deeply intense, so much so that you fear exhaling at the wrong time may disrupt the balance at play, or cause you to miss a subtle emotional beat.
Doremus is aided by a superb score from Dustin O’Halloran (who was also the composer behind Like Crazy), which ties the romance together and turns the screenplay into something of a tragic opera itself, especially as the third act descends into wrenching territory. But while the filmmaker may flirt with melodrama, he always knows when to pull back.
Similar to Like Crazy, Doremus has crafted another complicated exploration of love with Breathe In, though this one is a shade or two darker. Even if it wasn’t adulterous, Keith and Sophie’s affair would still involve a thirty-year age difference (though the gap between them feels less in the film), but Doremus is at pains to emphasise that this is not the story of a predatory male or a scheming young home-wrecker, but rather of a tragic fatal connection. The film also raises questions as to whether the Reynolds’ lives are actually better off for Sophie entering their fray and shaking them up. And there’s ambiguity everywhere, with no easy answers. Keith is left to ask himself whether it’s better to have had his passions stirred if only for a short time, while Megan – who would seemingly rather have the illusion of a picture perfect marriage than ask herself whether she’s actually happy and fulfilled – is forced to confront reality. Once again, Doremus – who has fast become a filmmaker to watch – bypasses the clichés and digs into something that’s real, soulful, and quietly devastating.
Equals is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital.
